Printing machines



Feb; 16, 1960 F. R. PATALON ,0

PRINTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 1s, 1958 8 Sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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F RANCJS RALPH PATALON I Feb. 16, 1960 F. R. PATALON PRINTING MACHINES 8Sheets$heet 2 Filed Feb. 13, 1958 IZANC|S RALPH PATALON A-r-rvs.

Feb. 16, 1960 F. R. PATALON 2,925,029

PRINTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 13, 1958 1 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENT OR.

Fngglms RALPH PATALON WWW ATTYs.

Feb. 16, 1960 F. R. PATALON 2,925,029

PRINTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 15, 1958 a Sheets-Sheet 4 k PRODUCTIONORDER DATE. 7 A55\ NO. awe. MATLsPec SCHEDULE u-4-57 01234 A-5676 5-9012l-6-58 R QUANTITY IDENTiFICATlON FACTORY I00 spacuu. HANDLE -ASSEMBLY aR -0ODO0000000090000000000OOOOOOQQOOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ii PARTudmcn. DE$CR\PTION QUANSE'FUP MFG O 15a A-7 SPACE SLEEVE. WITH TAPPEDAND SHOULDERED 2 ENDS 300 I 24 a Q I53A 5-4 SCREW 500 4 4 m4 A-lACTUATlNG mos WITH 5 SPRING: RECESS I00 25 I7 7 6 I55 A-6 ACTUATINC;SHAFT I00 l4 7 use PURCH PINION G-EAR IOO 8 I57 PURCH. BIAS sPmNer \oo 9INVENTOR.

' FTg ucls RALPH PATALON Feb. 16, 1960 F. R. PATALON 2,925,029

' v PRINTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 13, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 PRODUCT\ONORDER ROUTE SHEET DATE ASS'Y NO. owe. MATLSPEC. SCHEDULE u-4-5'7 0|234-A-56'75 B-QOIZ \-6-58 7/ QUANTITY IDENTIFICATION FACTORY \00' SPECIALHANDLE ASSEMBLE 3 mm mama. DESCRIPTION QUAN.ST-UP MFG:

I53 A-7 SPACER SLEEV E,WITH I TAPPED AND SHOULDERED 2 ENDS 300 l 24 3\53A 54 scREw 300 4 4 I54 A |v ACTUATING KNOB wma 72 sPRme RECESS I003,; I7 6 I55 A-E ACTUATlNCr SHAFT I00 I; 14 '7 I56 PURCH.P\N|ON GEAR I008 \57 PURCH.BIA$ SPRING- I00 9 INVENTOR. FRANCE RALPH PATALON Feb. 16,1960 F. R. PATALON 2,925,029

PRINTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 13, 1958 a Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG 7 7PRQPUCTION ORDER .Joa TICKET DATE A ASS'Y NO. owe. MAT'LSPEC. SCHEDULE7/ H-4-5'7 o\2a4 A-5678 5-9012 l-e-sa QUANTITY HDENTJFICATlON FACTORY|oo SPECIAL HANDLE ASSEMBLY 3 PART ,No. MACH-DESCRIPTION QUAN. air-uMFG.

I55 .A-7 SPACER SLEEVE, WITH I TAPPED AND SHOULDERED 2 ENDS 500 I 24- 3PRODUCTION ORDER JOB TICKET DATE ASS'Y. NO. DWG. MAT'LSPEG. SCHEDULE 7/|\-4-s7 0!.254 A-5678 s-eonz |-c,-sa

QUANTITY IDENTIFICATION FACTORY IOO SPECIAL HANDLE ASSEMBLY 5 PART Na.MACH. DEcmP-noN GUAN. SET-UP MFG- I55A 5-4 SCREW 300 24 4 INVENTOR.FRANCIS RALPHPATALON HTT'vs.

Feb. 16, 1960 v F. R. PATALON 2,925,029

Filed Feb. 13, 1958 v 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR. FRgf dfis RALPH PATALONF. R. PATALQN PRINTING MACHINES Feb. 16, 1960 a Sheets-Shed 8 Filed Febl3 1958 INVENTOR. FRANClS RALPH PATALON United Sttes Patent C PRINTINGMACHINES Francis Ralph Patalon, Euclid, Ohio, assignor toAddressograph-Multigraph Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation ofDelaware Application February 13, 1958, Serial No. 715,036 8 Claims. Cl.101-91 This invention relates to a new and improved offset printingmachine and more particularly to an offset printing machine whichpermits printing, in a single operation, of both variable and fixeddata.

The popularity of offset printing machines is well known. Machines ofthis kind are widely utilized for general duplicating requirements,including the preparation of circulars, inter-office communications,reports, charts, and the like. Because of the ease and facility ofoperation and the high quality of prints produced, planographic offsetduplicating machines have also been widely used for printingletterheads, drawings, and even for three-color process work. Copyreproduced on machines of this kind lasts indefinitely, each duplicatecopy retaining the appearance and the qualities of the original.

The lithographic, masters utilized in offset printing machines, althoughoriginally made of zinc or aluminum, are now to a great extent made ofspecially prepared paper. The paper masters afford many-importantadvantages, including easier typing, proof reading, and correcting, andalso are moderate in price as compared with metal masters. Paper mastersof this kind comprise a high wet strength paper towhich an appropriatecoating is applied; a preferred form of lithographic master and themethod of preparing such masters is described in detail in United StatesLetters Patent No. 2,534,650 to S. Worthen, issued December 19, 1950.These paper-base lithographic masters may be provided with perforatedareas permitting detachment of portions thereof to afford a means forremoving a part of the master in the reproduction of certain kinds ofdata.

There are also stick on and overlay masters which may be attached to anoriginal master at predetermined places in those applications where itis desired to add to or to alter portions .of the original copy. Theversatility of offset printing machines is also enhanced by devicesfonautomatically applying the starting solution to the master and forapplying a cleaner solution to the offset cylinder blanket immediatelyupon the completion of a printing run. Other known arrangements permitthe mounting of two or more masters on the .form cylinder of the offsetprinting machine, thereby affording another means for adding or deletingportions of the printed information. i

The relatively versatile operation made possible by the aforementioneddevices and developments with respect to rotary planographic printingmachines makes possible their use for highly. variable and exactingapplications, provided some means may be afforded for the selection ofdifferent areas or lines of data on consecutive printing operations.Thus, an offset printing machine which incorporates means for selectingparticular portions of the data on the master cylinder for successiveprinting; operations may be utilized in the preparation of productionorders and in other short-run printing operations in which it isnecessary to reproduce some of the data consistently and to change otherportions of the data. Of course, the offset printing machine 2,925,029Patented Feb. 16, 1960 affords the same advantages in connection withapplications of this kind as in more conventional duplicating andprinting operations.

A principal object of the invention, therefore, is a new and improvedoffset printing machine including a. novel means for varying the contentof the printed data.

Another object of the invention is a new and improved offset printingmachine which affords a convenient and effective means for modifying aportion of the printed data with each printing operation or after anydesired number of printing operations.

A more specific object of the invention is a new an improved offsetprinting machine including a blanket cylinder comprising means forchanging the data printed from a given master. 1

Another objectof the invention is a new and improved offset printingmachine comprising a blanket cylinder which includes an adjustable lineselector device for preventing printing of all but selected lines oftext from a master to a work sheet.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which,

by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the presentinvention and the principles thereof and what is now considered to bethe best mode for applying those principles. Other embodiments of theinvention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used andstructural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a planographic offset printing machineconstructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a substantially simplified elevation view of the printingmachine of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the blanket cylinder of theplanographic printing machine of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the blanket cylinder ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows a planographic master which may be utilized in the offsetprinting machine of the invention in connection with a particular kindof systems job;

Fig. 6 illustrates one printed form which may be reproduced in theprinting machine utilizing the master of Fig. 5;

of Fig. 9.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a rotary planographic offset printing machine20 constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Theprinting machine 20 comprises a pair of spaced frame plates 22 which aremounted upon a suitable base 21. A form cylinder 25, a blanket or offsetcylinder 26, and a platen or impression cylinder 27 are rotatablymounted between the frame plates 22 for cooperation with each other inthe usual manner. A paper feed table 28 is provided to afford ameans'for introducing work sheets into the nip of the offset and platencylinders 26 and 27. The several cylinders maybe driven by a suitablemotor through driving belts, pulleys, and like means in conventionalmanner.

A planographic form or master is mounted upon the cylinder 25 and isinked by a suitable inking mechanism which may, for example, include apair of form rolls 35 which receiveink from an ink fountain (not shown)mounted within the housing 36 and which transfer the ink to theplanographic master. An aqueous ink repellent in applied tothep'Iano-graphic'plate in conventional manner by a: repellentapplicator roll 38 which is supplied with the ink repellent by a supplysystem (not shown) mounted within a housing'39. It will of course beunderstood that the above described general organization of parts of theprinting machine is provided solely for thepurpose of illustration andthat the location and construction of the several difierent parts of theprinting machine may be varied substantially without in any sensedeparting from the invention. 3

One embodiment of the blanket cylinder and adjustable lineselectordevice of the-invention is best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Asshowntherein, the line selector device comprises a: mask M and'clampin'g'means forthe mask M, the clamping means comprising a pair of rectangularplates 41a and 41bfacing each other; plurality of pointed pins 60 aremounted on and-extend from the inner surface of the plate 4 1a into acorresponding plurality of holes 60a in the" plate 41b. The two plates41a and 41b form the two ar ms of a clamp'and are hinged upon a spindle42. The support means'for the clamp comprises a Z-shaped sliding bracket45' (see Fig. 4) having an upper panel 43 which is secured to the plate41a and further having a lower shelf 44 the ends of which are bentupwardly on either side tOfQl'lTl two handles 58 which may be clasped bythe-machine operator between thumband forefinger in order to shift theclamp laterally of the blanket cylinder 26'. i

The center panel of the Z-shaped sliding bracket45' issecured, by meansof a pair of square-sectioned studs 47 and pressure springs 49, to asliding means for guiding movement of the mask M relative to the blanketcylinder. The sliding means comprises a rectangular rail 46 which isprovided with a longitudinal slot'51 in which the squaresectionedportions of the studs 47' are engaged for sliding movement,'the widthofthe square portions of the stud being only very slightly smaller thanthe width of the groove 51. Each of the springs 49 iscompressed betweena cup washer 52, which bears upon an adjusting nut 48 threaded upon thestud 47, and awasher 53' which engages the rear face of the rail 46.Accordingly, the springs 49 maintain the center panel of the slidingbracket 45' in bearing contact with the rear face of the rail 46,permitting the bracket to slide along the rail in frictional contacttherewith. Moreover, the springs 49 tend tohold the plates 41a and 41bin firm engagement with each other, since the plate 41b, being freelyhinged on the shaft 42, re'sts'upon a blanket clamp 54b, while the plate41a is pulled against the plate 41b when the sliding bracket 45 isbrought to bear against the rail 46 by the biasing,

action of the springs 49;, p

,The' mask M is held. in position, on the one hand, by

the pressure of the clamping plates 41a and 41b against A spring blade61 with a downwardly extending catch 65 at its free end is secured tothe middle portion of the clamping plate 41a, being located so that itsfree end is maintained in contact with the upper edge of the rail 46.The arrangement is such that the catch 65 engages in one of a series ofpositioning notches 66 in the top edge of the rail 46 whenever theregister pointer is aligned with a particular graduation on the scale59; The engagement of the catch 65 in the positioning notch 66 preventslateral movement of the mask and clamp along the rail, therebypreventing any undesirable shifting of the mask which could otherwisetake place during operation of the printing machine, for'in'stance as aresult of vibrations. The two ends of the rail. 46 are-afiixed to thelead end blanket clamp 54b by suitable means such as the two screws 62.

For abetter understanding of the advantages ofiered by the blanketcylinder a nd movable mask construction of the invention, reference. maybest be'had to a particular printing application which may be'carri'edout by the printing machine 20. One such application, in which theinvention is highly advantageous, is the printing of production ordersfor the manufacture of a particular device or apparatus I Inmanyinstances, .themanufacture ofithevarious parts of a given device, or theassembly 'of the parts constituting a device, involvesthe preparation".ofa series of different forms. In some instances, only one copy of eachform may be required; Whereas in others duplicate or othermultiple-copies may be necessary, depending to a substantial extent uponthe" prevailing system in the factory in which the device ismanufactured. In general, however, the system requires one or severa lcopies of a repetitive document 70 (Fig. 6), commonly known as a routesheet :or job sheet,whichmay'includea description 71 of the item to bemaufactur'edfrefcrred to hereinafter as repetitive data, anda' list" 72of the individual operationswhich must be performed in the differentmanufacturing departments of the' factory, referred to he'reihafterasvariable data. The route sheet or sheets 70 are accompanied by a set'ofsmaller sheets or tickets, usually known as labor' tickets or job.tickets, each corresponding to" aparticular operation; to beperformed inonefactory department; examples'of such job tickets, comprisingthe'printed cars' 74and 75, are illustrated in Figs; 7 and 8. Forcontrol purposes, however,

- the job tickets -such ascards 74':a rrd"75 should also show oneanother, and, on the'other hand, by the pointed pins 60 projecting'from'the inner face of the plate 4111'. The

line. selector device further comprises a means for I'narking' orindexing the position ofthe'mask and clamp on the rail; that is, thedevice includesa means for. accurately locating the mask M at a seriesof different positions axially of the blanket cylinder. The positionmarking means comprises a pointeror index marker 50 which is preferablylocated'in the middle of the lower shelf 44 of the sliding bracket 45.Agraduated angle scale is employed. in connection with the positionpointer 50; the scale structure'comprises a support portion 69 which is"secur'edto the trailing clamp54a for the blanket bymeans. of alpair ofknurled screws 56 and lock nuts 57'. The scale structure furtherincludesa vertical 'por-* corresponding to individual lines of" datafa'sdescribed,

more" fully hereinafter.

at least some description of thework piece; that is, the job ticketsshould include-at least a portion of therepetitivedata 71 Using the.improved blanket cylinder and selector mask arrangement of the presentinvention, the copiesrequiredfor initiatingfparticular manufacturingactivity are processed as follows:

i A planogra'phic master 76 pie ferably a-paper master of the kinddescribed m me aforementioned Worthen patent, is first prepared. Asindicated in Fig.5, the master includes" two data sections onwhich'information is .typed or otherwise inscribed. Theright-handsection 77 of the master receives therepetitive data 71including, for example, a descriptioniof' the device to be'manufactured,an identifying numberfor the device being manufactur'ed, adrawingnumber, the starting date 'for the manufacturing activity, thescheduled; finishing date, the quantity of devices to be manufactured,specifications for the materials to be employed, and other likeinformation. The left-hand section 78 of the master, which may, forexample bis-separatedfrom the section 77by a I perforated line 79,receives the variable data comprising the list ofindividual operations72. Each ofthe items in the variable data may-include, for example, anoperation identification number, awork shop; number, a description ofthe operation to be performed, a machine tool codenumber,theset-uptimef'o r. the machine tool, the

work time for fabrication per piece, and other like data Each of theseentries in theoperati'oh list i7Zmay' com-' prise one or several lines;the space required for each line corresponds to the spacing of the indexmarkings on the graduated scale 19.

After the master 76 has been prepared, it is mounted upon the formcylinder 25 and inked in the usual manner. It should be noted that thelines of data on the master 76, as mounted on the form cylinder 25,extend circumferentially of the cylinder; that is, they extend in thedirection of rotational movement of the cylinder, as indicated by arrowsA, Figs. 1 and 5. The ink images of the repetitive and variable data arethen transferred from the planographic master to the blanket 55.

To print the route sheets 70, work sheets comprising blank orpre-printed paper are automatically fed through the printing machine 20,the number of work sheets corresponding to the number of documentsrequired for distribution to various departments of the manufacturingcompany. For this portion of the printing operatiomthe mask M ispreferably removed from the clamp 41a, 41b, leaving the entire blanket55 unobstructed and unmasked. Consequently, both the repetitive data 71and the variable data 72 are printed complete upon the route sheets,affording an overall description of the apparatus to be manufactured andof each of the several steps involved in the manufacture thereof.

The operator of the machine then mounts the mask M in place, securingthe mask between the two clamp members 41a and 41b. The mask itself ispreferably, made of a relatively thin flexible material and maycomprise, for example, a simple sheet of thin flexible card stock orother paper or of fabric. The work tickets, as exemplified by jobtickets'74 and 75 are then fed into the printing machine 20. At theoutset, selected portions of the variable information 72 are printed onthe job tickets. The repetitive data printing of the job tickets isdeferred untilafter. printing of the variable data thereon, .asexplained more fully hereinafter. This sequence of printing the variableand repetitive data is necessary to effective operation of the printingmachine, since'otherwise the repetitive data would be imprinted on theface of the mask M during printing of the variable data and wouldproduce a multi-image imprint in the repetitive data area of the jobtickets.-

In printing the variable data on the job tickets the masteris inked andthe ink image thereof is transferred to the blanket 55. Only one inkingis normally required for printing the variable data on all job tickets,since only a few copies of each job ticket are necessary. The mask M isthen positioned, with respect to the blanket cylinder 26, so that itdoes not cover any of the variable data, but may cover the repetitivedata. The first job ticket is then fed into the printing machine from aposition such that only the first item of variable information is im-Operation of the adjustable line selector is extremely simple andconvenient and requires a minimum of skill on the part of the machineoperator. Thus, in order for the operator to insert the edge of the maskM between the retaining clamp plates 41a and 41b, it is only necessaryto press downwardly (see Fig. 4) onthe' shelf 44 of the sliding bracket45 so as to move the lower part of the bracket easily from the rail 46against the biasing action of the springs 49. In the course of thisaction, the clamping plate 41a, which is integral with the slidingbracket 45, is lifted, whereas the plate 41b remains in position on theblanket clamp 54b by virtue of its own height and the fact that it isfreely hinged upon the shaft or spindle 42. After insertion of the maskM, when the operator releases the bracket shelf 44, the springs 49 againpress the clamp plate, 41b'against the plate 41a and hold the mask Mtightly clamped between the inner surfaces of the plates. Moreover, thepointed pins 60 perforate the mask and penetrate therethrough intoengagement with the apertures 60a in the clamp plate 41b. The operatorthen clasps the handles 58 at the ends of the shelf44 on the Z-shapedsliding bracket 45, usually between the thumb and forefinger, and shiftsthe bracket laterally along the rail 46 while exerting sufiicientoutward pulling force to disengage the catch 65 from the notch in whichit has been engaged. In this manner, the operator may slide the catchalong the upper edge 7 of the rail 46 until it is located above thenotch correprinted thereon, the length of the job ticket being such thatthe remainder of the variable data is not imprinted on the job ticket. iDuring this and subsequent variabledata runs of the job tickets, themaster cylinder 25 is maintained in spaced relation with respect to theblanket cylinder 26, since no additional inking of the blanket cylinderis required.

After the end of one or more printing cycles, depending upon the numberof job tickets required for the first item of variable information, theadjustable line selector device is moved by the machine operator, to theleft as seen inFigs. 1 and 3, the required space for covering the firstvariable entry with the mask M. The second labor ticket. is then fedinto the machine and the second entry of variable'information is printedthereon. As before, all undesired items of variable information areeffectively omitted from the job ticket by virtue of the positioning ofthe mask M and the relatively short length of the job ticket. Thisprinting process is repeated there after for each subsequent item ofvariable information, the desired number of job tickets being printedfor each manufacturing, stocking, assembling, or other operation.

spending to the desired position for the mask, after which the handles58 are released and the spring action of the blade 61 forces the catch65.into.the desired notch 66. Alignment of the mask is made simple andconvenient by registration of the pointer 59 with the graduations on thescale 59. v

In printing of the job tickets, the operator next positions, on the feedtable, the labor ticket which isto be imprinted with the line or linesof variable information corresponding to the first item of variabledata. In order to align the job ticket with the desired portion of thevariable information data and with the mask M, a graduated scale 64 ispreferably provided upon the feed table 63 of the printing machine, thescale 64 corresponding to the graduationsof the blanket cylinder maskscale 69. In this manner, once the operator has positioned the laborticket so that the bottom edge of the ticket (the left edge to theoperator) covers the graduations up to but not including the indexmarking n, the ticket may be fed into contact with the blanket cylinder,26 in a position such thatthe space at the bottom of the ticket islocated exactly opposite the desired item of variable informationtransferred from the master onto the blanket. No other information canbe printed on this labor ticket because, on the one hand, the datatransferred from the master onto the blanket beneath the item ofvariable information corresponding to index marking n, that is to theleft as seen in Fig. 3, these additional data (n+1), (n+2) are locatedbeyond the bottom edge of the ticket in an area of the blanket cylinderwhich does not contact any portion of thepaper. On the other hand, theother variable information entries (n l (n2) which are located abovetheitem n, that is, to the right as seen in Fig. 3, cannot be printedbecause of the interposition of the mask M between the blanket and thelabor ticket, the left edge of the mask being located just above thevariable data 11 when the pointer 50 has been set by the operator inalignment with the graduation n on the scale 19.

To imprint the next item of variable information (n+1) on the next laborticket, the operator shifts the sliding bracket 45 to the left along therail 46 untilthe pointer 50 is aligned with the graduation (n+1) uponthe scale 59, as described hereinabove. He then positions the job ticketto be printed on the feed table, using the scale 24 to'align the ticketso that when it is fed into the machine only the desired item (n+1) isprinted thereon. In this manner, and as described hereinabove, each 1jobticket is imprinted with only the desired portions of the variabledata. 1

After the printin'g of'the variable data 72 has been completed, therepetitive data 71 is reproduced on the job tickets such as the cards 74and 75. For this purpose, the master cylinder 25 is again actuated totransfer an ink image onto the'blanket 55 of the blanket cylinder 26.Inasmuch as printing of the variable data has been completed, thevariable data portion of the master may In printing of the repetitivedata 72 on the job tickets, I

the tickets are fed through the right-hand side of the printing machine20, as viewed in Fig. 1. As an alternative to the arrangements set forthimmediately hereinabove, the variable and repetitive data areas of themaster may be separated by a spacing sufiicient that the relativelyshort job tickets are not imprinted with the variable data at the timethat the repetitive data is reproduced thereon. Normally, it isnecessary to reproduce a total number of job tickets which is greaterthan the number which may be imprinted from a single inking of theblanket 55. Consequently, it is usually necessary to re-ink the blanket55 a number of times in the course of printing of the repetitive data71. Thus,'prin-ting of the repetitive data on the job tickets is carriedout in a manner essentially similar to printing of the route sheets,except for the provisions described hereinabove forv preventingsimultaneous printing of the variable data 72. I

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate another embodiment of the invention in whichthe adjustable line selector device is of somewhat modifiedconstruction. In this construction, the clamp supporting means comprisesan angle bracket 93 having one flange which is secured to the clampplate 41b and having a second flange which is attached, as by means ofthe screws 94, to the sliding mount for the clamp. Inthis instance, thesliding mount comprises a U-shaped slide member 95 which engages arectangular rail 96, the rail 96 extending longitudinally of the blanketcylinder 26. A spring member 97 is mounted upon the slide member 95 andis compressed between the inner rear face of the slide member 95 and thefront face of the rail 96, asbest seen in Fig. 10. The spring 97 pullsthe inwardly bent flanges at the ends of the two side walls of the slidemember-95 in contact with the rear or upper face of the rail 96.

The line selector device further includes a shield mernber 98 having aforwardly bent lower end 99, the shield being mounted upon the upperclamp plate 41a as illustrated in Fig. 10. A spring blade 100 issecuredto the bottom face of the U-shaped slide member 95, as by means of ascrew 101, and engages the upper or rear face of the shield 98. The maskclamp in this embodiment thus comprises two members, one being formed bythe upper clamp plate 41a and the shield 98 to which it is aifixed andthe other by' the lower plate 411), the angle bracket 93 mountedthereon, and the slides 95 to which the angle bracket is affixed. Thespring blades con stantly urge the plates 41a and 41b toward each other.To insert the mask M between the blades, the operator pushes against theshield 98, moving the shield against the action of the spring 100 andtoward the sl de mem ber 95, thereby separating the plates 41a and dlband providing adequate space for insertion of the edge of the mask. Inthis device, it should be noted that the mounting pins 60 of the firstembodiment have been omitted; these pins may be desirable in someinstances but are not essential inasmuch as the spring biasing means ineither embodiment may afford sufiicient gripping strength to maintainthe mask M in the desired position on the blanket cylinder.

The line. selector deyice in the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10 is alsoprovided with marking or. indexing means for locating the slide memberin predetermined accurate position along the rail 96, the indexing meansbeing substantially similar tothat described hereinabove in connectionwith Figs. 3 and 4. Thus, the position marking meanscomprises a pointer50' which in this instance is located in the middle of the downwardlyextending portion 99 of the shield member 98 (see Fig. 10), in positionto cooperate with the graduated scale 59 of the printing machine; Theshelf 99 of the shield 98 also has its left andright ends 58 bentupwardly to form two handles which may be clasped by the operator,usually between the thumb and forefinger, to shift the slides along therail 96 and to "bring the pointer 50 opposite a graduation on the scale59, that is, in alignment with the figure corresponding to a particularline selection. The rail 96' may be secured to the lead end blanketclamp 54b of the blanket cylinder as by means of two countersunk setscrews 62, lock nuts 61 being utilized to maintain the screws inposition in the rail 96 and the blanket clamp 54b. 7

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated, it is to be understood that these are capable of variationand modification. Accordingly, the aim in the appended claims is tocover all such variations and modifications as may fall within the truespirit and scope of the invention. I

a I claim: a

1. In an offset printing machine of the kind comprising a form, cylinderadapted to mount a lithographic master,

an impression cylinder, a feed table and a blanketcylinder interposedbetween the form andimpression cylinders to transfer an ink image from amaster mounted on said form cylinder to a print-receiving sheet fed fromsaid feed table between said blanket and impression cylinders, a lineselector device comprising: a slide member mounted on said blanketcylinder for longitudinal sliding movement with respect thereto; aclamp, affixed to said slide member, for gripping a thin, flexible maskand supporting said mask in position to cover a predetermined portron ofsaid blanket and prevent printing therefrom; first index means on saidblanket cylinder for indicating the portion of said blanket cylindercovered bya mask supported in said clamp; and second index means on saidfeed table for enabling an operator to align a print-receiving sheet inpredetermined position with respect to the maskedv and unmasked portionsof the blanket cylinder.

2', In an offset printing machine of the kind comprising a form cylinderadapted to mount a lithographic master, an mpression cylinder, a feedtable and a blanket cylinder mterposed between the form and impression.clamp plate toward said fixed clamp plate, for'gripping a thin,flexible mask and sup-porting said mask in position to cover apredetermined portion of said blanket and prevent printing therefrom;first index means on said blanket cylinder, for indicating the portionof said blanket cylinder covered by a mask supported in said clamp; andsecond index means on said feed table for enabling an operator to aligna pr ntere'ceivin'g sheet in predetermined position with respect. tothemasked'and unmasked portions o-f-the blanketcylinder;

3. In an offset printing machine of the rind. compris ing a formcylinder adapted to mount a lithographic master, an impression cylinder,a feed table and a blanket cylinder interposed between the form andimpression cylinders to transfer an ink image from a master mounted onsaid form cylinder to a print-receiving sheet fed from said feed tablebetween said blanket and impression cylinders, a line selector devicecomprising: a guide rail mounted on said blanket cylinder and extendinglongitudinally thereof; a slide member mounted on said guide rail forlongitudinal sliding movement with respect thereto; resilient biasingmeans, effectively engagng said slide member and said guide rail, formaintaining said slide member in frictional contact with said rail; aclamp afiixed to said slide member, for gripping a thin, flexible maskand supporting said mask in position to cover a predetermined portion ofsaid blanket and prevent printing therefrom; first index means on saidblanket cylinder, for indicating the portion of said blanket cylindercovered by a mask supported in said clamp; and second index means onsaid feed table for enabling an operator to align a print-receivingsheet in predetermined position with respect to the mask and unmaskedportions of the blanket cylinder.

4. The method of printing a series of related documents comprising thefollowing steps: applying repetitive and variable ink-receptive dataimages to first and second discrete areas of a lithographic master, saidvariable data being arranged in a series of equally spaced lines;mounting said master on a form cylinder with the lines of variable dataextending circumferentially thereof; inking the images on the master;rotating the form cylinder in inktransferring contact sheet with acylindrical blanket; feeding work sheets having lengths correlated tothe data on the master one-by-one between said blanket and a platencylinder from a series of different positions therealong whilesimultaneously masking predetermined related portions of said blanket atone side only of the work sheet to imprint only one item of variabledata on one marginal portion of each work sheet; and feeding said worksheets one-by-one between said blanket and said platen cylinder from afixed position to imprint said repetitive data on each work sheetadjacent the opposite edge thereof.

5. The method of printing a series of related documents comprising thefollowing steps: applying repetitive and variable ink-receptive dataimages to first and second discrete areas of a lithographic master, saidrepetitive data area having a given length and said variable data beingarranged in a series of equally spaced lines; mounting said masteron aform cylinder'with the lines of variable data extendingcircumferentially thereof; inking the images on the master; rotating theform cylinder in ink-transferring contact with a cylindrical blanket;feeding work sheets having lengths correlated to the data on the masterone-by-one between said blanket and a platen cylinder from a series ofditferent positions therealong while simultaneously masking differentpredetermined portions of said blanketvat one side only of the worksheet to imprint only one item of variable data on each work sheet, saidwork sheets being selected to correspond in length to the variable dataentries imprinted thereon; and feeding said work sheets one-by-onebetwgen said blanket and said platen cylinder from a fixed position toimprint said repetitive data on each work sheet.

6. In an offset printing machine of the kind comprising a form cylinderadapted to mount a lithographic master, an impression cylinder, a feedtable and a blanket cylinder interposed between the form and impressioncylinders to transfer an ink image from a master mounted on said formcylinder to a print-receiving sheet fed from said feed table betweensaid blanket and impression cylinders, a line selector devicecomprising: a guide rail aflixed to and extending longitudinally of saidblanket cylinder and having a central longitudinal slot therein; a slidemember i 10 mounted on said guide rail for longitudinal sliding movementwith respect thereto, said slide member comprising a Z-shaped bracketand a plurality of studs afiixed thereto and extending into said guiderail slot; a corresponding plurality of biasing springs, individuallymounted on said studs and engaging said studs to urge said bracket intofrictional contact with said rail; a clamp, afiixed to said siidemember, for gripping a thin, flexible mask and supporting said mask inposition to cover a predetermined portion of said blanket and preventprinting therefrom; first index means on said blanket cylinder forindicating the portion of said blanket cylinder covered by a masksupported in said clamp; and second index means on said feed table forenabling an operator to align a print-receiving sheet in predeterminedposition with respect to the masked and unmasked portions of the blanketcylinder.

7. in an oflfset printing machine of the kind comprising a form cylinderadapted to mount a lithographic master, an impression cylinder, a feedtable and a blanket cylinder interposed between the form and impressioncylinders to transfer an ink image from a master mounted on said formcylinder to a print-receiving sheet fed from said feed table betweensaid blanket and impression cylinders, a line selector devicecomprising: a guide rail afiixed to and extending longitudinally ofsaid'blanket cylinder and having a plurality of index notches spaced atpreselected intervals therealong; a slide member mounted on said guiderail for longitudinal sliding movement with respect thereto; a clamp,afiixed to said slide member, for gripping a thin, flexible mask andsupporting said mask in position to cover a predetermined portion ofsaid blanket and prevent printing therefrom; first index means on saidblanket cylinder for indicating the portion of said blanket cylindercovered by a mask supported in said clamp and comprising a graduatedscale corresponding to said index notches;-

latch means comprising a resilient releasable latch member mounted onsaid slide in position to engage one of said index notches whenever saidslide is in predetermined alignment with the corresponding portion ofsaid scale; and second index means on said feed table for enabling anoperator to align a print-receiving sheet in predetermined position withrespect to the masked and unmasked portions of the blanket cylinder.

8. In an offset printing machine of the kind comprising a form cylinderadapted to mount a lithographic master, an impression cylinder, a feedtable and a blanket cylinder interposed between the form and impressioncylinders to a transfer an ink image from a master mounted on said formcylinder to a print-receiving sheet fed from said feed table betweensaid blanket and impression cylinders, a line selector devicecomprising: a slide member mounted on said blanket cylinder forlongitudinal sliding movement with respect thereto; a clamp, affixed tosaid slide member, for gripping a thin, flexible mask and supportingsaid mask in position to cover a predetermined portion of said blanketand prevent printing therefrom; first index means, including a firstgraduated scale mounted on and extending axially of said blanketcylinder, for indicating the portion of said blanket cylinder covered bya mask supported in said clamp; and second index means on said feedtable comprising a second similar graduated scale mounted in parallelrelation to the axis of said blanket cylinder in predetermined axiallydisplaced alignment with said first scale to enable an operator to aligna print-receiving sheet in predetermined position with respect to themasked and unmasked portions of the blanket cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,093,385 Storck Sept. 14, 1937 2,421,823 Allen et a1. June 10, 19472,707,433 Roberts May 3, 1955

